Goated by the Gods (2 page)

Loki sat back against the cave wall and watched the fire crackle. Too bad Thor wasn’t here to enjoy the lack of view. The next time he saw Thor, he was going to throw him off the side of the mountain. What was supposed to be fun and meant to stir up some excitement in his dull days had turned into a circus. This oaf of a man wouldn’t let him leave the cave, and he didn’t care what Loki had to say about it either. Damn shame he couldn’t reveal his true self to the idiot, but a promise was a promise. Loki looked his captor over and had to admit for being half troll, he wasn’t bad looking. He expected him to be hideous and ugly. Instead, he found Gareth to be rather striking with his dark blonde hair and rough mountain man beard. Okay, so it wasn’t a beard per se, but it was stubble and it looked damn good on him. Gareth had to be about six four and packed some muscle. He had carried Loki as if he weighed nothing. It still boggled his mind to even think about it.

“I told you I could walk, you didn’t have to carry me, you know,” Loki ground out between clenched teeth. The indignity he had suffered for Thor.

“You shouldn’t walk on that leg until you know if it's broken. Just sit tight and relax. I’ll get you some food and you can hide here until the storm lets up.”

“What storm?”

“The one that is going to hit shortly after daybreak tomorrow. You are lucky I was up here or you would be in serious danger of death.”

Loki narrowed his eyes at the being in front of him. What was going on here, was he being played for a fool? Did the other gods set him up for a laugh?

“What’s your name and why were you up here anyway?” Loki asked in suspicion

“I spend a lot of time up in these mountains. You could say it’s a family tradition of sorts. I don’t like being around a lot of people so I come up here to rejuvenate.”

“Is that why there are so many, what do you call it…um, comforts?”

Gareth barked out a laugh. “Comforts, you say. Not many people would call this comfortable, but it works for me.”

Loki looked around the small cave and would almost call it homey, well, at least it was for a troll.

“What’s your name, anyway?” Gareth asked as he threw a stick on the fire.

Loki looked at him before turning his attention back to the pop and spit of the fire. “They call me L…Luke.” Loki had to think quickly. He almost said his name was Loki but if Gareth knew what he was, he would definitely be suspicious of a god here in his cave.

“Well, Luke, it's going to be a long night. I have a bedroll I can set up here next to the fire for you. It should keep you warm enough through the night. You hungry, thirsty? Need anything before I go?”

“Go? Where are you going? You aren’t going to leave me here, are you?”

Gareth chuckled, “You aren’t afraid, are you? I thought you were an experienced hiker, after all.”

“Well yeah, of course I am. I am just a little out of it after losing my pack and the pain from my leg and all.”

“Gotcha. No, I am not leaving you for the night. I am just going to scout the area and make sure all is well. I want to get a feel for the weather and make sure the storm is going to hold off.”

Loki nodded his head in understanding and watched his wayward rescuer disappear. As soon as he was sure he was out of sight, Loki flashed to Thor’s side.

“What in the hell is going on? Is this a joke? You didn’t tell me he was one of us,” Loki choked out in anger.

“What are you talking about, Loki? One of us what? Who is?” Thor asked in confusion.

“Gareth is a half-god, he is one of us. He is half-troll and half-god. What if he can tell who I am? This is not funny,” Loki gritted out.

“I swear I didn’t know, she didn’t tell me that part. Freyja is having a good old laugh at our expense, I can imagine. Relax, Loki, if he knew who you were, he would have said something I am sure. Plus he is no danger to you and you are in no danger from him, you can just leave without a second thought.”

“Fine, but what the hell was that anyway? You really had to trip me and make me fall in front of him like that? I felt like a freaking idiot.”

Thor’s laughter filled the hall. “Relax, old friend, I need him to take care of you until the rescue crew shows up. They are so close to each other and they don’t even know it. Just sit back and watch the fireworks.”

Gareth climbed up the mountain away from the cave and the stranger. “Mother, are you here? I could really use some help. I don’t know what to do. Something is coming and I don’t know if it’s good or bad. Please, Mom, I need you.” Gareth waited a few more minutes in vain, his mother hardly showed up when he called anymore.

He moved to lean against the rock face and stare out over the forest below. There wasn’t any place like this in the world. Gareth could feel the stress and tension slowly easing away. It had been too long since he had time to get up here and commune with nature.

He knew that it was his troll blood that pulled at him to be away from the humans as much as he could, he wasn’t cut out to be in such crowded places. His other half craved the excitement and comforts of living in town surrounded by people. He was constantly at war with himself; it was a never-ending battle that was slowly driving him insane.

Gareth stood with a sigh and headed back to the cave and his unfortunate guest. Something just didn’t seem right about him, but he just couldn’t place his finger on what it was. If only he was in tune with his god side a little more, maybe he could use it to his advantage.

Gareth stepped into the cave and took in the sight before him. Luke sat by the fire exactly where he had left him, with his head leaned back against the wall. A grimace flashed across his face; poor guy must be in pain.

“Are you okay? I don’t have any pain meds to give you. I don’t take anything like that or keep it on hand as I am not used to guests.”

“It’s quite all right. I can ignore the pain for the most part. Would you care to talk to help pass the time until nightfall comes?”

“I don’t have much to say about myself, but I can tell you of some legends and myths that are associated with this area and the mountains if you care to listen.”

“That would be much appreciated. Anything to keep my mind occupied would be greatly appreciated.”

Gareth moved to sit against the opposite wall. “I don’t know if you know it, but these mountains and well, this whole area is rife with tales of the Norse gods.”

Loki/Luke perked up at that. “Really now? Norse gods in these parts? How did that come to be? Aren’t they from the Germanic and Scandinavian countries mainly?”

Gareth chuckled at his enthusiasm. “That is correct. We have a large population of descendants here and they brought their gods with them, from what I was told.”

“Well, do tell, I am quite curious to hear what you have to say of these noble gods.”

“This seems like a good place as any to make camp. We only have about an hour before we lose the light completely and I don’t know about you guys, but I would rather be set up in comfort before then.”

Jared and Quentin agreed and began readying the campsite. The brothers worked in companionable silence, each lost in their own heads.

“I am going to find some firewood if one of you want to prepare a spot,” Zach called out as he headed off.

“I got it,” said Jared. “Go ahead and finish what you are doing.”

By the time Zach came back, the camp was set and a circle of stones had been set up. “You hungry?” Quentin asked as he tossed a bag of provisions at Zach before he could reply.

Zach grunted and sat down while Jared started the fire. When he was done, he laid back on the ground, looked up and watched the stars come out.

This was one of the best parts of being out here. You couldn’t see the stars like this in town. Nothing could compare to the contentment he felt sitting here with his brothers and being with nature.

They didn’t need to fill the silence, they were comfortable with it and each other in every way that mattered. Time passed and the night air cooled off enough to make them move closer to the fire.

Jared spoke softly into the night, “If you could break the curse, would you? I mean in all seriousness, would you? Knowing all the good things we can do because of it?”

Zach sighed and gathered his thoughts. “As much as I complain about it, and as hard as it makes dating, no, I don’t think I could give it up. I just have to believe that one day I will find a guy out there who can handle all the baggage I come with.”

“I wouldn’t either,” Quentin whispered. “Whenever I start to think like that, I just think of the faces of all the people we have saved, and I know that even though it was supposed to be a curse, it’s not for those people. Even if they don’t know about it.”

“Do you guys really think we can find people to love us, human and goat?”

Quentin and Zach exchanged a look. Jared was the youngest of them and sometimes he took things harder. He was a lot like their mother in that aspect.

“I do, Jared, I really do. There has to be someone out there for all of us. The gods can’t hate us that much.” Zach rolled over and climbed to his feet. “I am going to call it a night, guys.

Let's be ready to head out as soon as the sky lightens enough to see.”

“Where are we storing the extra gear?” Quentin called out.

“We can store it under the brush here, no one will find it. You have your special packs ready to go, right?”

Jared and Quentin acknowledged they did before they climbed to their feet and headed to bed as well.

Zach made sure each of his brothers’ packs were securely on their backs before he too shifted into his goat form. One of the best things Quentin had ever done was design a bag that they could wear as they shifted that would hold the essentials they would need up on the mountain for whoever they found.

“You guys ready to go?”
Zach asked them through their link. Both brothers nodded yes and Zach started climbing. He didn’t know how long they would have before the storm hit and they needed to cover as much ground as they could before then.

“Why don’t we split up a bit and look for any trace of a hiker being up here. Check in periodically so we all know where the others are and that we are okay,” Zach projected to his brothers and watched as they both moved off in opposite directions.

In their human form they could climb faster than most people, in their animal form they were practically unstoppable.

The hours passed slowly and the promised storm sat on the horizon, constantly threatening but never landing. Zach hadn’t found any trace of anyone being up here, but he wasn’t ready to call it quits yet. He topped a small rise and stopped to take a breather.

“Are you guys as hungry as I am? Come join me for a lunch break and then we will regroup and continue our search.”

Jared was the first to join. Always full of energy, he came bounding over, jumping and having a good time. Zach couldn’t help but laugh at seeing him. It wasn’t often you saw an almost 300 pound goat jump in joy. “
Settle down before you pull something, you freak.”
Jared’s laughter filled his head before it was replaced with Quentin’s voice. “
Is he jumping again? There is just something wrong with a grown goat jumping like that.”
Zach watched as Quentin joined them on the rise.

The three men shifted and threw some clothes on from their packs. “By the gods, it doesn’t come with a better view anywhere I have ever seen,” Jared said with reverence in his words. Zach paused in getting lunch out of his pack to look around. He was right, it never failed to amaze him how beautiful one place could be. He could bet that Valhalla would look something like this. Paradise in a word.

“Come on, guys, we are killing time. We can come back after we establish all is well. Have you guys seen any signs, smelled anything, heard anything?” Zach looked from brother to brother as they both shook their heads in the negative. “I am starting to think this is a wild goose chase. We are almost to the coordinates. After we eat, we can check up around that area and then decide what to do from there.”

Jared nodded his agreement, still staring off into the distance. Zach turned to look at his youngest brother but he had moved off. He moved to follow him, but Quentin stopped him with his next words.

“He’s okay, he just feels close to Dad whenever we are up here. Give him a few minutes and he will be back to normal.”

Loki came awake slowly, forgetting for a minute where he was and the role he was playing. He stretched his sore muscles and turned to find his host watching him from the other side of the fire. “Is there a problem?” Loki said between yawns.

Gareth continued to stare for a few more seconds before looking back down to the fire. “No problem at all. I was just checking to make sure you were okay. You know, you were mumbling in your sleep. Something about killing Thor and hard ground.”

Loki blushed, “Guess your stories resonated with me a bit more than I expected. What time is it anyway?”

Gareth turned to look out the cave entrance at the morning light. “I’d say probably a little after eight or so. The storm seems to be holding off for now, but I don’t know how long that will last. We can try to head down the mountain and see how far we get before the storm hits, but then we have to hope we can find shelter, or we can sit tight and see what it does and make a decision later. It's up to you.”

Loki pondered what to do. He couldn’t really leave this cave otherwise how would the shifter find the troll?

He had to make this sound convincing though, Gareth was already suspicious of him. Damn gods blood! “I think we should stick around, I don’t want to get caught out in that. I don’t have my gear anymore and I don’t think you have enough to sustain both of us out in that weather. Am I correct?”

“Yes, I have enough, but it would be tight. I can climb to higher ground and see if I can get a signal out. Your sat phone luckily was in your pocket when I found you. It doesn’t seem to be broken.” Gareth paused before continuing. “I don’t have much, but if you are hungry you are welcome to share. I mean I have plenty, it’s just not the most appetizing stuff you could have.”

For the first time, Loki found a genuine grin crossing his face. “Bring on the hard tac and water. It's an adventure, right?”

Gareth supplied Loki with his breakfast, then cleaned up and headed out to see if he could get a signal. Chances were slim with the storm sitting off in the distance, but it wouldn’t hurt to try. Plus, he wanted to see if he could get his mother again while he had the chance. Gareth climbed up to the top of the mountain and surveyed his surroundings. If he could live here forever, he would die a happy man. The air smelled cleaner and the cool breeze made him feel rejuvenated. He gave little thought to the man he left behind in the cave. He had left plenty of water and a blanket. The fire was built up and should last till he returned.

Gareth sat down on the ledge and took a deep breath, filling his lungs. It had taken him two hours to get up here and he wasn’t rushing down for anything. After a few minutes, he pulled out the sat phone and checked the connection. Just what he expected, nothing, no signal. Damn storm!

“Mother, are you here?” he called out. Gareth was getting frustrated, it wasn’t like his mother to not answer for this long of a stretch. Something kept nagging at the back of his mind that there were games afoot he wasn’t aware of.

His biggest worry was the man in the cave. He had lied to him. He had plenty of food to get them off the mountain and back to civilization, but he wasn’t sure he wanted him out of his cave yet. At least not until he knew why he felt some odd connection to him.

It’s like his brain recognized him in some way, he just didn’t know why he felt that way. Gareth had no doubt the stranger seeking refuge in his cave was lying to him. He just wasn’t sure for what purpose.

Gareth spent the next couple hours just relaxing and taking in the beauty of the storm in the distance, the wind and the sun warming his body. He periodically called out to his mother, with no more success. Each failed attempt left him more annoyed than the last.

As the sun slowly descended through the skies to its resting place, Gareth stood and started his climb back to the cave. He had waited too long and now he would have to rush back to make it before dark fell and his guest became worried about his ability to traverse these mountains in the dark.